West Bridge Journals

The Osama Bin Laden Dash

Every since I read “The Dash,” by Linda Ellis the first time, and the many times since then, I think about that poem whenever someone dies. Never has a poem given me cause to think about my life the way this one has. On our tombstones are the dates of our birth and death with a dash in between. It’s within that dash where we live or had lived. Good or bad, its all there in the dash. Our countries worst enemy, Osama Bin Laden, was killed on Sunday, and I can’t help but think about his “Dash.” A man filled with such hatred, that killing thousands of people gave him pleasure, has a dash that I wish God had never allowed to exist. But because he did live, thousands of people this world over saw their loveones dash cut short. One can only imagine where their dash would have carried them.

Because of him, thousands of service men and women were sent in harm way, and their story when told will always include part of him. The way he lived his dash touch millions, and history will not be kind to Osama Bin Laden. The lesson learned here is that history will judge us by how we live our dash. Linda said it so well:

“So when your eulogy is being read
With your lifes actions to rehash
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?”

I for one wish that I could remove the trash from my past, but there is no delete key on my dash. What I can do though is try to live my dash in such a way that not only my family and friends would be proud of me, but my Lord and Savior would also.